The Olympic year has begun, and it will undoubtedly contain moments of emotion that will linger in the minds of billions of viewers around the world. Team sports, so popular in the traditional sporting calendar, are giving way to individual sports and athletes taking to the stage every four years. 

Some of the key stars who will grace Paris 2024 include:

SIMONE BILES (USA, gymnastics)

After a two-year hiatus, American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles arrives in Paris, possibly as the main attraction of the 2024 Games.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist was destined to be the standout figure at the last Summer Olympics in Tokyo, only to dramatically withdraw from most of her events due to a debilitating temporary spatial awareness condition known as 'the twisties.'

The brilliant and diminutive athlete, who has five routines named after her, made an explosive return to the international stage at last October's World Gymnastics Championships, winning four gold medals. 

The 26-year-old's army of millions of social media followers, along with sports fans around the world, will be eager to see her signature smile shine from the top of the podium for the first time at the Olympics since Rio 2016.

FAITH KIPYEGON (Kenya, athletics)

No athlete has had a more remarkable 2023 in athletics than Kipyegon, who set world records in three distances and won two gold medals at the World Championships. 

After winning gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again five years later in Tokyo, the Kenyan, who was voted Athlete of the Year in 2023, could win more than one medal in Paris, perhaps in the 1,500m and 5,000m. 

Her country, whose status as a sporting superpower has been tarnished by a series of doping scandals, desperately needs her to succeed.

TEDDY RINER (France, judo)

If the hosts are to achieve President Macron's goal of finishing in the top five in the medals table, they will need their stars to shine, and no one in their discipline shines brighter than judoka Teddy Riner. 

Riner, who will be 35 when the Games begin, has won gold at each of the last three Olympics, twice in the 100kg+ heavyweight category and once in Tokyo in the mixed team event. He also has two bronze medals. 

He seems to be in good form as he prepares for Paris. He won his 11th world title last May before taking a long break. 

When he returned in December at a meeting in Belgrade, he won all three bouts, suggesting that despite his age, the Guadeloupean is in the mood to win a fourth consecutive gold medal. 

"It's not just about showing off. It's about delivering and bringing home the most beautiful medal," he said after being selected for Paris 2024.

NOAH LYLES (USA, athletics)

The American sensation aims to leave behind the disappointment of the 2020 Tokyo Games and prove once and for all that he is Usain Bolt's heir by winning the sprint double in Paris.

The 26-year-old, who could only manage bronze in the 200m in Tokyo three years ago, is aiming to surpass Bolt with four historic golds in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Lyles has already shown he is capable of winning three titles, being the star of last year's world championships, securing the sprint double and the 4x100m relay.

ORLA KHARLAN (Ukraine, fencing)

If Kharlan finally clinches the individual sabre gold that has eluded her throughout her illustrious career, she could bring down the Grand Palais in response to the suffering her family and compatriots have endured since the war against Russia began in February 2022. 

The 33-year-old athlete, who already has two individual Olympic bronze medals and a team gold and silver to her name, has secured her place in Paris thanks to the intervention of IOC President Thomas Bach when she was disqualified from the World Championships for refusing to shake hands with her Russian opponent. 

Kharlan is one of a growing number of Ukrainian athletes who would rather beat their Russian opponents rather than boycott the Games. "It's not my dream; that would be for the war to end, but it's my goal is to be in Paris, and for my family to be there to watch," she told AFP last July.